Diary of a Vampeen: Vamp Yourself for War

by Unknown

  “Thank you for everything. I truly appreciate it,” I acknowledged with a smile.

  “Good bye Alexa,” Laurence stated before leaving.

  “I believe I have a few projects in mind for you. I’ll be in touch soon,” Auggy added before following the others.

  Once they’d left I realized that they never properly said good bye to my mother. They only acknowledged me. I used that as my final confirmation that they weren’t exaggerating when they said I was favored.

  Roxy escorted us out a back way. We stopped at a final security desk where we received our cell phones and surrendered our badges.

  “Octavio will escort you the rest of the way ladies. Have a good night,” Roxy said turning on her heels to backtrack.

  “Call me Rocky,” he advised.

  “Rocky?” I questioned.

  “Cause I’m solid as a rock. No one’s gotten past me… and I hate my name,” he chuckled at the end. He embodied a laid back yet gangster Hispanic. His head was shaved and his body solid muscle and tan with a tribal tattoo swallowing his left arm.

  “Follow me,” he prompted. We ushered behind him and were led down another hall to a utility room and back door. “When you exit you’ll be on King Street. You should be able to find your way.”

  “Thank you,” my mother stated seeming anxious to be officially free again.

  “No prob. Have a good night Mrs. Jackson and I’ll see you round Lex,” he said with a quick wave. How did he know my nickname? This place knows too much about me.

  “Good night,” I replied. Rocky swiped a badge and pressed his hand against a wall scanner. One second later the door unlocked. My mother pushed it open and we were outside.

  The moment the door closed I was in her arms. She squeezed me so hard I felt a sharp pain near my lungs. I gasped and heard a tiny snap. She jumped back. I saw she had shed silent tears in our embrace.

  “Mom,” I breathed through my teeth. “I think you broke my rib. How long will I take to heal?”

  “When was the last time you fed?” she pressed in a cross between mother and business mode.

  “A week and a half ago,” I answered waiting for the pain to subside.

  “That’s too long, especially with all that happened. You should feed once a week,” she scolded. “Can you make it back to the car? We’re about a mile and a half away.”

  “Mom, I’m a vampeen, not a human. I’ll be fine,” I replied. She nodded and took off. I trailed close behind her. We were nearly flying to get back as soon as possible. That alone pushed me onwards despite the throbbing inside. I found mid-way that not breathing helped.

  The drive home seemed to take longer than normal. My mother insisted I tell her every detail. By the time we arrived home I was ready to lay in bed for a while, but we had company. Kellan’s parent’s SUV was in the driveway as was Kellan’s beamer which automatically upped our household by three plus my dad and Kellan. Looked like I would be entertaining for a bit.

  The second we walked in the door Kellan enveloped me in his arms tightly. I didn’t resist, only returned his enthusiasm and relief despite my pain still lingering.

  “Kellan, pull back. Lexi, are you healing yet?” my mother insisted in her mother bear protecting her cub voice.

  “Heal? What the hell happened?! What did they do to you?” Kellan broke into an angered panic instantly checking me.

  “Relax. Mom hugged me too tight and broke my rib. I haven’t fed lately so it didn’t start healing immediately, but I’m fine. I’ll be okay,” I explained.

  I heard a sniff as if someone was crying. I looked over to the kitchen and saw a tearful Beth. A second later she gently hugged me. “Thank you so much,” she stuttered through heaves as the tears continued to stream.

  Next thing I knew Al was hugging me. He didn’t linger. “Thank you Lexi. I don’t know what you did but I will be eternally grateful,” he stated pulling Beth into his arms. “In all honesty, we weren’t sure what we were going to do,” he added.

  “You’re welcome,” I smiled; I felt the joy inside. I knew I’d made the right choice and regardless of a thank-you receipt I would do it again. Had it been me or my parents in the same position, I would pray that someone would do the same. It’s hard to find work in the human world when you’re a vamp. You are constantly concerned with aging and secrecy; you’re forced to move on more often as well. Someone like Al would be forced to get papers due to his age and to top it off they pay much less. It’s all more hassle than it’s worth.

  Remembering human jobs though, I quickly scanned the room and listened. “Where’s Dad?” I asked.

  “He took off Lexi. I sent him away just in case. I didn’t want any harm to come to him,” my mother answered.

  “O, okay. He’ll be back soon though, right?” I frowned, disappointment sinking in. Out of everyone, I looked forward to seeing him the most. I knew he was torn and I knew he felt like a failure because he couldn’t protect us so I wanted to show him he didn’t have to. I would have to wait though.

  “I plan to call him in a bit,” she replied.

  “Ok. My turn. Come here love,” Craig burst through the crowd and took me in his arms. “If the nerves are still ticklin you or those aches killin you, I can kiss ‘em away,” he grinned. Leave it to him to break the tension.

  “Thanks but I’m ok. Just ready to change and lay around for a while,” I chuckled. I felt a tiny singe of pain in doing so, but I was healing already so it wasn’t unbearable.

  “Lucky for you then that I’m available to lay around with for a few hours. Unfortunately you can’t have me forever; my doll gets a tid jealous. But what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, ay?” he said. I knew he was joking and I was glad to get a laugh in after tonight.

  “Al, Beth, if you’d like to stay I can give you the details of Lexi’s experience. You’re a part of the ranks again so you’re allowed,” my mother offered.

  “We would like that,” Al confirmed.

  “Craig, you want to watch a movie with me upstairs? You can come too if you want Ellen,” I winked, a smirk on my face.

  “Sounds good love. Lead the way,” he prompted linking my arm and walking toward the stairs.

  “Funny guys. Don’t think you’re gonna be alone together. I don’t trust you mate,” Kellan said speeding up behind us.

  “How can you not trust your best mate?” Craig argued unlinking his hand to grab my butt.

  “That’s why,” Kellan iterated. He snatched Craig’s arm and yanked him back away from me.

  I changed into my pajamas which consisted of my favorite VS capris and a white cotton tee. We all cuddled side by side in my bed and watched a James Bond movie. It was the most relaxing thing I’d done all week. I didn’t have to worry for the moment. Al got his job back, my meeting went well, Mike wasn’t around and I had two strong vamps ready to defend me on each side. For once I could let go of all the stress and enjoy this time, and it was rejuvenating and blissful.

  Chapter 8

  I must have fallen asleep. I awoke just before sunrise to Kellan running his fingers through his hair.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Only about two hours. Your body needed it though. You should be healed. Are you?” he asked pulling away so I could check.

  I was off the bed in two seconds stretching every which way. No pain; I wasn’t even sore. “I’m good,” I announced. “I think Mom was right though. I need to feed today.”

  “Do you want me to go with you? I fed Monday,” he offered. He had moved to stand next to me.

  “Umm…” I hesitated. I knew he fed the same as me, except that he tended to kill his victims, but I was almost embarrassed by the idea of him watching me. My only guess was that being overweight before, I always felt like people judged me when I ate in front of them. If I had a slice of pizza, I envisioned them saying I ought to eat a salad. If I was eating a salad, I heard them say I should be using a vinaigrette instead of my ranch dressing. Though I was thin now an
d wouldn’t be eating human food again, I was still self-conscious eating around anyone but my family and Mel.

  “You’re not obligated to say yes. I won’t be offended,” he stated, eyeing me closely observing my reaction.

  “Thanks. I think I should go by myself this time.” I glanced at my nightstand for my trusty alarm clock, not that I used it anymore. It displayed the time prominently in red blocks: 5:42AM.

  “I should get ready. If I’m lucky I can catch an early morning jogger.” From what I’d been told, they’re the best since exercising increases the blood flow, and the faster it pumps, the quicker I could feed and run.

  An hour later I returned. Kellan had taken the opportunity to go home, shower and change.

  “Did you eat?” he asked.

  “No, but I drank,” I smirked.

  “Then what did you drink?” he pressed with a charming smile.

  “A rail thin blonde. She was all I found. It was enough to tide me over.” I made the rule to never look at my victim’s face. If it turned out to be someone I knew, I would die inside. And even if I didn’t, given my moral compass, I would be haunted by their face forever.

  I looked at the clock and decided it was a decent time to call Mel. She wouldn’t voluntarily be awake, but wouldn’t kill me for waking her. I grabbed my cell phone which Kellan had charged for me while I slept. I punched in Mel’s number and waited for her to answer.

  “Lex? Please tell me it’s you,” she checked anxiously. She was far from groggy.

  “It’s me. I thought I was waking you up…”

  “Are you crazy? My sister goes off to see the Volturri for an unknown reason, could possibly be killed or I don’t know what and I’m supposed to sleep peacefully?! You are officially a white cracker whack! Now tell me what happened. You survived obviously because I shouldn’t be your one and only bail me out of jail call,” she blurted, somewhat reprimanding, a bit sarcastic, but mostly relieved.

  “I can’t tell you. Just… umm… remember what the Volturri wanted Edward to do when they declined him?”

  “Join,” she instantly shot back.

  “Part time help, no contract, I decide the terms,” I spewed.

  “Okay. Well, it could be worse I suppose,” she replied.

  “What are you doing today?” I asked. I sped downstairs and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge.

  “Now that I know you’re ok, I’m so going to sleep,” she said promptly yawning.

  “Where’s your Mom and Kyle?”

  “Mom is on a weekend trip with her boy toy and Kyle is staying with my Aunt Janice this weekend. It’s my cousin Jake’s birthday so they’re doing some big weekend trip to Carowinds,” she explained, yawning again.

  “So you’re home alone?” I took a long sip of my water.

  “Yes, thank God. I’ve needed a break from them.”

  “Yeah, I agree. Call Craig if you get too lonely,” I reminded her.

  “I already did. He’ll be here in about an hour.”

  “Awesome. Now go sleep!”

  “Night Lex.”

  “Morning Mel,” I replied.

  “Yea, yea. I’ll talk to you later,” she chuckled.

  I hung up and finished my water. “So what are we doing today?” I asked Kellan, who had made his way down to the kitchen shortly after me.

  “Nothing jumps out,” he replied tousling my hair.

  “You are always touching my hair. Ever notice that?” I questioned a tad snobbish in my tone.

  “I love your hair. Do you not like me touching it?” he asked, never removing a finger from my strands.

  “I don’t mind. Just making sure you’re aware of yourself,” I grinned.

  “I’m very aware when it comes to me with you.”

  “Uh huh…”

  “Are you ready to tell me what happened last night?”

  “I really don’t want to repeat it,” I fidgeted. He looked disappointed. His expression quickly turned hard, unreadable. Despite loving me, he was still quick in covering his emotions. He tended to close people off easily. It’s when he did that that I wanted to pull him in closer, tighter. I feel like I’m about to lose him forever when he does that.

  “Kiss me,” he demanded.

  “Why?” I asked, caught off guard by his cold, angry tone.

  “Damn it Lex. If you won’t tell me what happened, at least let me see what happened.”

  I stared blankly at him for a minute before nodding my head in agreement. I knew he’s doing it out of concern, not curiosity. And when you love someone, no matter how angry you are, you always want to accept their affection.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist, leaned up and pressed my lips to his. He gently pulled me in tighter. We’d obviously reached and passed a critical point in our relationship since we instantly connected again, no barriers present.

  “Favor? They found favor with you?” he asked within my head, still kissing me. His right hand lifted to cradle my neck.

  “Yes. Everyone says it’s a big deal, but I don’t see why.”

  “These are the feared leaders of our world. They are Hitler, Castro and Stalin. Maybe they didn’t show you that side of themselves but just ask my father, or even your mother, these are rulers that control with an iron fist and demolish in seconds those begging for mercy. Even I am afraid of them and what they would do to me. Just looking at them wrong can get you penitentiary time.”

  “Penitentiary time?”

  “It’s like prison but more like a slave camp where you’re fed once a month but required to work every night. Then when you’re useless to them, they destroy you,” he explained. I heard the fear in his words. Kellan hadn’t shown the slightest of weakness with anyone or anything… until now. He slightly trembled as he added, “That’s where they sent my dad.”

  I was silent. Words couldn’t erase his emotions. I simply continued to embrace him with a bit more strength. Inside I was shaking at the vision in my mind. It all sounded awful; like a demented form of the Holocaust but for vamps.

  He pulled away. “Lexi, I really don’t want to see your idea of what happened,” he pleaded softly.

  “Oh. My mind! You see it all… I’m… I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Well I was but obviously I wasn’t thinking straight,” I replied. I felt horrible. We’d both had a hell week and I’d just manifested the cake topper.

  “Calm down babe. I know you didn’t mean to.”

  “So what do you want to do today?” I asked wanting to change the subject as soon as possible. No sooner had I spoke the words that my phone rang. I quickly answered without checking the caller ID; I was too busy carefully and closely observing Kellan. For once he seemed fragile.

  “Hello?”

  “Alexa Jackson. It’s Auggy. I trust you made it home safely,” he stated more than asked. Kellan’s eyes sprung open when he heard the caller.

  “Of course, thanks,” I replied moving away from Kellan. I felt his eyes boring into my back as I made my way to the sectional to sit.

  “Good. I was right yesterday; I have the perfect assignment that I could use you on,” he announced.

  “What kind?” I asked. I didn’t want to cross lines but I wanted to know more about the assignment I was being offered.

  “Infiltration. Listen, we don’t discuss details over the phone. Lines can be tapped by anyone. When can you get down here to be briefed?”

  I turned to look at a statue still glaring at me. Kellan was clearly not a fan of the whole concept. “Is an hour ok?”

  “Great. I love the effort Alexa. A guard will meet you in the garage and lead you through the officers’ entrance,” he stated. Though his voice was always raw, I heard a slight inflection of appreciation and approval.

  “Okay. Thank you,” I said. He hung up and I closed my phone. My stomach twisted knowing I now had to turn and face Kellan.

  He sighed and though it was one gesture, I heard his apprehension, disapproval, worry, fear, everything bundled
in. “Are you sure you want to do this Lexi?”

  “No, but I’ll decide that when I get there.”

  I wasn’t an idiot. I was aware there were risks to certain ventures and working for the ranks as a vamper, as they were called, was a big one. At the same time, how do you say no to someone who places you on a mini pedestal? No one else was favored by the High Authorities, only me. How could I strain that relationship with an outright refusal? They assured me I wasn’t obligated yet I still felt obligated in some way.

  “Please don’t do this,” he pressed softly. He was at my side in an instant, took my hands in his and was luring me in with his beautiful emerald eyes.

  I broke away and walked toward the kitchen. “What happened to I’ll support you no matter what you choose? When your dad asked me at my party, those were your words.” I was upset that he was putting me in this situation.

  “Because if you joined with my dad you’d be under him. He wouldn’t endanger you with high security operations. He’d put you on small projects like a vamp showing off to humans. The High Authorities, anything that involves them in a project is huge and extremely dangerous Lexi. Favor or not, they won’t mourn losing you. But me, Mel, your family, we would be devastated,” he explained. Of course he had to throw my family in there.

  “I’m still going. I gave him my word. If I think it’s too dangerous, then I’ll decline. I love you,” I added. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and left. I couldn’t stand to argue this way. He had my best interest at heart, but didn’t understand my point of view. And having my family’s concern hanging overhead wasn’t something I wanted in the forefront right now.

  Given the time, it took me a bit longer to get there than with my mother. I parked in the same garage my mom had hours ago and ran carefully and secretly to the headquarters. I called my mom on my way since she’d left to be with my father. She was just as leery as Kellan. My dad couldn’t even pull himself together to talk to me when he heard. Talk about feeling crappy. Imagine being the sole cause of your dad’s breakdown.

  I walked into the garage on high alert. I scanned the area but found no guard. I made my way to the cement column and waited. Forty-three seconds elapsed when I saw a man in all black flag me down from the alley on the left side. I instantly knew he was a vampire.